


Merlin Actually

by ElizabethisjustaKitten



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur is clueless, Bit of a smut, Christmas all around, Fluff, M/M, Possible second hand embarassment, holidayfic, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 23:04:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5516537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizabethisjustaKitten/pseuds/ElizabethisjustaKitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur finally brings Merlin home for Christmas. His father is not pleased with it.  Then Grandma Pendragon happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merlin Actually

It was the Christmas Eve and quite frankly, Arthur was stirring very much. There wasn't any stocking hung by his family's hearth, not a piece of decoration other than a Christmas tree at the end of the room. That was how Pendragon celebrated Christmas. No fuss was made about traditions or decorations, but they dined together on the Christmas Eve. It was the only night in the whole year that Arthur remembered his father being home, not rushing, not campaigning, and not having guests over. Just his family and closest friends were allowed to sit at the Pendragons’ table on Christmas. And this year, there was one more person to join them.  
Arthur nervously lit a candle in the middle of the table, almost toppling it over. A warm hand on his stopped his shaking.  
"Easy, love." Merlin softly whispered in his ear. Arthur could feel his warm breath on his skin and shivered. Taking Merlin's hands and putting them around his torso, he turned to face him. His Merlin, whom he was bringing to meet his family for the first time.  
Saying that Arthur was nervous would be an understatement. Arthur was terrified. And possibly, maybe, out of his mind if he thought this was a good idea in the first place. But he loved him so much, and he had met his family last year, and now was time.  
So he brought Merlin to his childhood house; or mansion to be precise. His Merlin who couldn't tell dessert fork from the salad one. Merlin who sometimes told the weirdest nerdy jokes and wasn't interested in politics unless LGBT rights were the main topic, in which case he went into the longest rants. His innocent, adorable, and possibly really confused Merlin. His father wasn’t happy about it.  
If somebody told him three years ago that he would bring Merlin for the one and only important family dinner of the year, he would laugh. Because Merlin was supposed to be only a one night stand. It happened like this:  
  
He met this weird, lanky boy in a pub in South Wales. He had a haircut that went out of fashion a few years ago, big pleading eyes, and the most ridiculous ears he had ever seen. For the sake of an argument Arthur would say he was in a mood. Leon and Lancelot would kindly imply he was shitfaced and tried to pay in smiles and queen waves more than once that night. Merlin always argued that Arthur was simply so infatuated by him that he couldn't produce a coherent sentence.  
But he wasn't. He met this guy, and told Lancelot that he would take him home and try to fuck some senses into him, because who the hell wears a scarf like that in this century?!  
Merlin took Arthur home that night. They had drunk, sloppy sex at Merlin’s couch and his kitchen counter, in the shower, and then finally in his bed. And holy shit, it was the best sex Arthur had ever had. It was like Merlin was magic. Like he knew Arthur already and knew exactly where to bite, where to kiss, and how to touch.  
Or Arthur was just really drunk and couldn't remember it correctly. Either version was possible.  
And then Merlin let him spend the night. This young, awkward twink was so generous that he let him sleep over. Arthur was mortified when he woke up around noon with the worst headache and sore muscles. But Merlin just grinned at him and made for him brunch in bed with some ibuprofen on the side.  
And that should have been the end of it, really, except that Merlin gave Arthur his number and he took it shamefully and quietly, not planning to call.  
It took three weeks back in London for Arthur to call him. He was convinced Merlin wouldn't even know who he was, but he really wanted to take his chances. He was lonely, bored, and the memory of sex with Merlin made him all red and flustered.  
It kept ringing for a long time and Arthur was ready to throw his phone across the room in frustration, when Merlin's chirpy voice responded at the other side: "Hello?"  
"Hi. Merlin? This is Arthur." Arthur's breathing was frantic now. He could feel his hands sweating.  
"Arthur?" Merlin sounded confused and Arthur's ego sunk.  
"Yeah... So you probably don't remember me, but we had amazing sex a few weeks back, then I proceeded to empty your fridge and medical cabinet and vanished into the night."  
Merlin laughed and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Yeah, I remember you. Don't worry, you can't really forget a guy like you."  
Arthur was now tracing patterns with his fingers, softly smiling. He stopped at the last words: "A guy like me? What does that mean?!"  
Merlin laughed again and that bubbly sound filled Arthur with warmth.  
"A guy like you. Handsome as a devil, shags like the Lucifer himself and quite frankly, probably trades souls with hell for his hotness. We don't have much guys like you around here."  
Arthur knew he was blushing at that moment. He would never admit it to anybody but Merlin later, but he went all red.  
"That would be because I'm not Welsh."  
"Oh..." Merlin sounded disappointed and Arthur cursed under his breath. This wasn't going that well.  
"But we could meet again, if you want."  
Heavy silence fell after that statement; Arthur cursed himself for approaching the subject so quickly.  
"Where do you live, Arthur?" Merlin asked after a while shyly.  
"Um... London." Arthur started nervously pacing around.  
"You live in London and you want to meet. With me. In South Wales?" Merlin sounded stunned.  
"Yeah?" Arthur simply answered and it came out more like a question. He cursed again into thin air.  
"Wow." Merlin said simply. Wow indeed. Arthur was so out of his game, he was astonished by himself. What was wrong with him today?  
"So, do you want it?" Arthur almost pleaded now.  
"Maybe? I mean yes. Yeah, of course I want to meet you again." Merlin answered and Arthur started laughing with relief.   
That was the first of many phone calls, texts and skype dates. Arthur soon found out about Merlin's weird fascination with lizards, when he send him third lizards-doing-weird-shit video that day, and Merlin learned that Arthur is not giving up anytime soon.  
When they finally met a week before Christmas, it was like they knew each other for far too long. They ended up at Merlin's again, this time talking and kissing instead of having a crazy, wild sex. Of course, they did that too, later, but it was more passionate, lazy, and awfully romantic than crazy and sloppy.   
It took another month of driving every weekend and rushing home, road fever and some missed trains for Merlin to move to London. Of course, he would blame it on work and better opportunities, but Arthur saw right through him.  
It took exactly two more months and two days for Arthur to ask Merlin to move in. Not that he practically didn't live there already.   
It took seven more months for Arthur to meet Merlin's best friend and Will maybe didn't approve of his lifestyle, his family's politics, or his money, but he didn't say a bad word about Arthur the whole time.  
It took two years and a week for Arthur to meet Merlin's mother and they hit it on right away.  
It took three years, one month, two weeks and a day since their first meeting for Arthur to bring Merlin to meet his family. And it was the hardest decision in his life.   
  
"Arthur?" He let go of Merlin's hands hearing Morgana's cheerful voice behind him. She rushed to him, hugging him tightly. Even though his sister lived in the USA, they skyped now and then and she met Merlin on those skype chats many times. But Arthur had always been there to control the damage and unplug the internet if things got really bad. Now? There was nothing he could do now.   
Morgana proceeded to hug Merlin, which stopped Arthur dead in his tracks. Merlin, however, did not look surprised at all by this move and hugged his stepsister right back.   
"It's good to finally see you in flesh," Morgana chirped, American accent slowly rubbing on her.  
"You too, Morgs!" Merlin nudged her on the shoulder and she smiled wildly, showing her predatory teeth.   
"I'm going down with you two conspiring against me, ain't I?" Arthur asked, slowly massaging his temples to prevent his starting headache. Morgana just giggled, as Merlin pulled toward him, planting a kiss to his cheek: "Don't worry, love, I will always fight on your side."  
"And I will be at yours." Arthur softly promised.    
"Unless, of course, we would fight about that awful scarf of yours. Then Arthur is all mine!" Morgana giggled and proceed to steal some cookies from the tables.   
"Morgana!" Arthur scolded her when Merlin shyly tugged to his favourite blue scarf.   
"Oh, get a grip Arthur, you hate that thing too!"   
Arthur just turned his eyes dramatically, taking Merlin’s hand, trying to get him as far from his sister as he could.  
"Where are you pulling me? Is there a broom closet we can hide in?" Merlin purred and a wicked grin spread on his face.   
"Broom closet, seriously? What is this, a Harry Potter movie?" Arthur laughed.  
"Well, this house certainly looks like Malfoy Manor. All big and broody."   
Arthur laughed chokingly: "Does that make my father Lord Voldemort?"   
"I don't know? From your stories one would expect more of a Darth Vader vibe.”  
They were emerging up the stairs now, chuckling like children.  
"So no closet then?" Merlin asked after a while, pretending to be disappointed.   
"One would expect you to be happy I'm not going back to closet this Christmas." Arthur shot back and Merlin grinned.  
"I'm very happy, love. Just a little privacy would be nice."   
Arthur couldn’t agree more. They were here since early morning, helping with gift wrapping and stealing cookies from the kitchen. He opened one of the many doors they were passing by, and tugged them inside.   
"Wait, I was just joking, Artmmm-" The last of Merlin's protests were lost inside Arthur's lips and he proceed to close the doors behind them and lean Merlin against them, hungrily kissing him.   
They parted after a while, Merlin desperately leaning against Arthur's face, but he stopped him.  
"I wanted to show you something," He said simply and hit the light switch. Just then Merlin realized where exactly he was standing.  
It was Arthur's old bedroom. Merlin had seen it in a few photos already. There was Arthur king-sized bed with red comforter and four hand carved wooden pillars that were decorated with four beautiful dragons. The rest of the room was just an empty bookcase, a closet, and an old-looking chest with a lock on it.   
"Okay, that is mad impressive. The photos didn't do it justice, really." Merlin stuttered, admiring the wood carvings.   
"We are staying here tonight, so I wanted you to see it in case you have to haul my drunk ass back here. Also, we needed privacy!" Arthur locked the door behind him and joined Merlin beside the bed. There was a flash of hunger in his eyes as he grabbed Merlin and pulled them both down. They collapsed at each other and the bed bounced a little under them.  
"This will be fun," Merlin laughed, already grabbing Arthur's shirt. Arthur started kissing his neck and his big ears, nibbling a little at them.  
"You have a thing for my ears, love," Merlin laughed, pushing Arthur away from his face so he could get rid of that treacherous shirt without having to undo all the buttons.   
"Yeah, but you know that!" Arthur smirked, attacking the other side of Merlin’s face, now going for the jaw and neck.   
"Uhm..." Merlin's noises became inaudible after Arthur hit a particularly sweet spot at his neck. Arthur tugged at his pants, trying to fit his hand into that tiny space without having to actually undo the button, but he had no luck and Merlin was faster, pulling Arthur's pants right down, not bothering to actually strip them. He pulled them just enough to slip a hand into Arthur's boxers, turning him onto a blabbering mess.   
Merlin slowly shifted so he had Arthur pinned down with his body, pressing his half hard cock against Arthur, rubbing it just right.   
They were panting and grabbing and pulling each other's hair without any dignity like teenagers, waiting for the other one to give up and strip them down and do it properly.  
Merlin was the first to resign and strip them both, going right after Arthur's hard cock and taking it into his wet mouth, sucking and maybe biting a little as punishment. Arthur didn't mind that much, since he only mumbled and moaned every time Merlin was a bit rougher than he needed to be. Merlin knew he secretly liked a little manhandling and gentle biting so he kindly obeyed.   
Arthur was close in no time, grabbing Merlin's hair and the sheets under him, trying to hold onto the last drop of self-preservation he had.   
There was a knock on the door at the very moment Arthur couldn't hold any longer and with a loud "FUCK!" came right into Merlin's mouth.  
"Arthur!" his father shouted, knocking again, as Arthur laid back into the bed, his breathing frantic.  
"Yes, father?" He shouted back, sounding choked.  
"May you and your guest please come downstairs, your aunts are here."  
"I'm coming!" Arthur promised, sending Merlin into fit of giggling. His father just groaned and Arthur could hear him leaving.  
"Seriously, what luck!" Merlin laughed again, this time aloud.   
Arthur just laid there, still naked, changing his colour to bright red.   
"So I guess this has to wait after the dinner, huh?" Merlin started to look for his pants.   
Arthur just huffed, hugging Merlin around his torso and pulling him back down.  
"I'll be quick, don't worry," he grinned broadly and despite his words lowered his head down very slowly.  
  
They returned downstairs after fifteen minutes, holding each other's hands and smiling. Morgana gave him a knowing smile before they were swarmed by Arthur's family that wanted to get to know his " _new friend_ ". It took Arthur precisely half an hour to get through various aunts and uncles, slightly offensive grandma Pendragon and a drunk family friend with explaining that yes, Merlin _is_  actually his boyfriend and yes they  _live together_  and love each other very much.  
"These gays, they come up with everything these days!" Merlin could hear while they turned their backs to grandma Pendragon, heading for the punch bowl.  
"Please, let it be the punch that Morgana made with the unreasonable level of alcohol," Arthur begged as he poured them each a glass. Merlin just chuckled by his side, putting a hand on his hip. Arthur snuggled to him, tasting the punch. It was indeed Morgana's and he cursed again as the strong liquid had hit his taste buds.   
They ate their dinner in relative silence, Uther Pendragon making a speech at the beginning and then proceeding to debate some political nonsense with Morgana. Everybody else didn't feel like talking which Arthur was grateful for.   
After the tediously silent dinner where Arthur kept whispering to Merlin which fork and knife to use for various meals and how to eat shrimps (seriously, who eats shrimps for Christmas dinner? Arthur just now saw how crazy his family actually was) Morgana took Merlin under her wings, feeding him cookies. Arthur was just about to go and save him, when his father put his firm hand on his shoulder and stopped him.  
"Son?" He addressed him coldly.  
"Father?" Arthur raised a brow.   
"Is your...  _friend_ spending the night then?"   
Arthur gritted his teeth at his father’s tone: "Yes, he is. We are staying in my old room. We already established that, didn't we?"  
"No need to be incursive about it, Arthur. I was just asking. Don't you think it would be more appropriate for him to stay at one of the guest rooms? Your poor grandmother has a weak heart, she may not take it well to learn you two are sleeping together in one room."  
Arthur could feel how red with anger his face was getting in that moment. "My poor grandmother needs to learn to respect my privacy and you should too, father!" Arthur let out through his gritted teeth.   
"Son..." Uther started but Arthur cut him out with a raised hand: "No, actually, stop!"   
Then he turned to the rest of the dining room, clinking with the spare knife from the table against his punch mug.   
"Listen everybody, I have something to say!"   
The murmur died out after a few heart beats and Arthur took a deep breath before he opened his mouth, "I have an announcement to make. This year I brought over one very special guest. Merlin, could you please join me here?"   
Merlin put his half eaten cookie back to the plate and took a few confused steps to stand beside Arthur.   
"As you all surely know by now, this is Merlin, my boyfriend." Arthur gestured toward Merlin and then took his hand in his, squeezing tightly to add himself some courage. Merlin squeezed his hand right back.   
"Merlin, actually, is not only my boyfriend, but he is in fact the love of my love. He is the kindest, smartest, most beautiful man I have ever had the honour to know. He will be staying with us for a few days and I wanted to ask all of you to behave kindly in his company, because I love him very much and maybe one day, we will hopefully share more than one apartment in London. Merlin is the person I want to grow old with, so get used to him, because you'll be seeing a lot of him from now on. If he says yes of course."   
There was a silent laugh from his audience at the end of his speech. Arthur spurted his words a bit too fast, looking strictly at his family, not daring to turn to Merlin.  
Merlin squeezed his hand again and Arthur decided to finally turn to him.   
"Are you asking me to marry you?" Merlin hissed through his teeth, trying to whisper.  
"Was I... not clear?" Arthur took a nervous step closer to him.  
"Yeah it was... a little vague, maybe?" Merlin laughed silently.  
"Ok, so let's do this properly." Arthur let go of his hand, feeling suddenly more nervous than before. Not being able to touch Merlin was the scariest feeling in the world.   
"I'm sorry that I don't have a ring, I was planning to do this after the holidays..." Morgana rushed to them with a red and golden ribbon, quickly tying it to a small ring with a bow at the end. Arthur thanked her with a smile, getting on one knee.   
"Merlin Emrys, will you do me the honour and become my husband one day?"   
There was a stunned silence, but Arthur didn't dare to look at the crowd or his father’s angry face. The only face that mattered at that moment was Merlin's, with his surprised lips turning into an O shape and his eyes glistening with Christmas light and tears.   
"Yes," he whispered trying to hold his emotions.   
"Louder! I'm too old for your mumbling boy!" Grandma Pendragon yelled and there was laughter from the crowd. That brought them both back to reality.  
"Yes. Yes, I will marry you!" Merlin almost shouted. Arthur got up, putting the small bow on his ring finger and then kissing him in front of everyone, lifting him from his feet for a while.   
"Love actually IS all around us." Morgana cheekily quoted after they finally parted. They both rolled their eyes in sync erupting with laughter.  
“Ok, seriously though, next year it’s my turn, I’m bringing my girlfriend.” she added with a little smirk.


End file.
